Signal apparatus.



No. 735,418. E PATENTED AUG. 4, 1903-.

' H. W. SGUDER.

SIGNAL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED EBPT. 25, 1902.

1T0 MODEL. 0 Fi .1. 1

3 LIL 14 I 13 3 WITNESSESL V 5 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented August 1,- 1903.

, HOWELL W. SOUDER, OF TAMAQUA,

TENNSYLVANIA, Assienon or oNE- HALF TO w. D. ZEHNER'OF LANSFORD, PENNSYLVANIA.

SIGNAL APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letterslatent'hlo. 73 5,418, dated August 4, 1903. 1 Application filed September 25, 1902I derial No. 124,796. (No model.) i

To all whom; it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOW-ELL'VV. SoUDER, a; citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Tamaqua, Schuylkill county,;

5 State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain? new and useful Improvements in Signal 'Apparatus, of which the following is a specifi-- cation.

My invention relates in general to signals and more specifically consists of an improved; form of electric lanternby means of which visual signals can be made both in night-"j time and in day-time. While capable of various uses, my inven-j tion finds its most important application to signal systems for railways, and the form of apparatus illustrated in the drawingsis espe-' cially designed for use on electric railroads. l It has heretofore been customary to employ electric lamps for signaling purposes ou electric roads, but where it is desired to pro-;

duce colored lights, such asred'and green,, the signals fail in the day-'time that is' to say, when the sun is shining on a lamp'having the ordinary colored lens of considerable thickness the external light so far overpowersj the relatively feeble internal light given 01561 by the lamp that little or no .diiierence in external appearance is presented whether the lamp .islighted or extinguished. Thus it is impossible to tell in the daylight whether the; signal is alive or dead and no information as to the condition of the road is afiorded by it.f My invention overcomes these difliculties and; produces a lamp signal, either colored or white, which presents a markedly. different appearance when the lam p is lighted from that;

presented when the lamp is out, andthisi.

dilference is one equally as discernible in brightest sunlightas in blackest night.

The best form of apparatus embodying my invention at 'present known to me is illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which-- I Figure 1 is a side elevation of the lamphood or lantern. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section showing the lamps and interior parts of the lantern. Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the cylinder which forms the basis of the 50 lamp-hood or lantern, and Fig. 4 is a further detail showing the slots in the caps.

ing-wires.

'materialo and 6, slip over the opposite ends of thecylinderl and with it form the lamphood. In the cylinder 1 are mounted back .to back the reflectors 7 and 8, which are preferably corrugated, as shown, though a true parabola or other curve might be employed.

In the foci of these reflectors are mounted electric incandescent lamps9 and 10, which are preferably connected in series in a circuit whose terminals are shown at 11 and 12.

The stem 2 has a flange or skirt 13, which may be mounted thereon by means of the internally-threaded hub 14. The inner ends of -the ca'ps 3 and 4 have slots 3 and 4 ,,(see

Fig.4) which permit them to pass by the stem 2 and one overlap the other. The skirt or flange 13 extends beyond and overhangs -these slots, thereby. preventing the rain from entering them. The head 18 on the cap 4 limits the extent of such overlapping. The

two caps may be held in position by the pivoted hook 16 on one cap, as 4, and the stud 17 on the other cap, as 3, with which it engages.

..The hand-hole 15 in cylinderl (see Fig. 3) 8o affords access to the lamps and their connect- The caps 3 and 4 have portions 19 and 20, Fig. 2, which project beyond the glass plates.

In operation the lamps 9 and 10 are rendered incandescent by the passage of an electric current when certain signals are to be made. At night-;the dilierence between a lighted and an unlighted lamp is of course discernible at a glance, as is also the color of the signal-light. In the day-time a similarly-marked difference of appearance is also produced with my apparatus, for thefollowing reasons: When a lamp is dead, the glass plates 5 and 6 present a dark dull appearance. When alamp is lighted, however, it shows through the thin translucent glass plate and produces a marked change in its appearance. It the reflectors 7 and 8 are used, the effect is still more marked. The plates 5 and 6 change from a darkred or other color to a very light shade of the same color.

' chanical signal or semaphore.

Through the plates can be seen the filament of the lamp marked out in a still more brilliant color, and the corrugations of the reflectors show in concentric rings of colored light. The effect is more noticeable at a dis tance from the lamp, if the same be properly focused, than it is from a nearer point of observation. The projecting portions 19 and 20 of the hood serve to shade the glass plate in part from the direct rays of the sun and heighten these differences of appearance above described.

Broadly speaking, the difference between the operation of the ordinary signal-lantern and mine, so far as at present understood, is that the ordinary lantern throws rays of colored light by means of lenses, which rays are completely lost in strong sunlight. My apparatus, on the other hand, does not, primarily, throw rays of external light, but produces a brilliantly-lighted interior which is visible through a colored window, (one of the translucent glass plates 5 or 6.) When said interior is not illuminated, it presents a dark background to the window, and the same is of dark color. When it is illuminated, it takes on a light color, because it is viewed through a slightly colored pane of glass. Furthermore, signal-lanternsheretofore used have as a rule been designed to give a steady light, asin case of a ships light, while my invention relates to variable signals, which convey different kinds of information, according to whether they are lighted or extinguished.

The main advantage of my invention is the saving of the cost of installation and of maintenance and operation of the ordinary me- A lamp is cheaper and more easily and quickly operated. As my invention is efiective throughout the twenty-four hours of the day, it can entirely take the place of all other signals.

It is evident that various changes could be made in the details of the construction illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention so long as it embodied the essential feature of my discovery. Other forms of lamp might be employed. Other forms of reflectors might be employed, and in some cases reflectors might be omitted. Different forms of lamp-hood or lantern might be substituted so long as the thin translucent plates 5 and 6 were retained, and while I have described these plates as of glass itis possible that other translucentmaterial might be substituted for glass and the principle of my invention still be retained.

Having therefore described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a cylinder, a supporting-stem there-for, two concave reflectors mounted therein back to back, a lamp in the focus of each reflector, caps fitting over either end of the cylinder provided with glass plates and slots engaging the stem, and a flange on said stem which overhangs said slots.

, 2. The combination of a cylinder, a supporting-stem therefor, two concave reflectors mounted therein back to back, a lamp in the focus of each reflector, caps fitting over either end of the cylinder provided with glass plates and slots engaging the stem, and a flange on said stem which overhangs said slots, said cylinder being provided with a side opening affording access to the lamps.

3. The combination of a cylinder, a supporting-stem therefor, two concave reflectors mounted therein back to back, a lamp in the focus of each reflector, caps fitting over either end of the cylinder provided with glass plates and slots engaging the stem, and a flange on said stem which overhangs said slots, the caps projecting beyond the glass plates.

4. The combination of a cylinder, a supporting-stem therefor, a concave reflector mounted in said cylinder, an electric lamp mounted in the focus of the reflector, a cap fitting over the end of the cylinderin front of the lamp and reflector provided with a glass plate opposite the end of the cylinder and a slot which engages the stem, and a flange on said stem which overhangs said slot.

5. A variable electric signal for day and night use comprising the combination of a hood, a plate of thin, translucent slightlycolored material mounted in said hood, an incandescent electricrlamp behind said plate, and a concentrically-corrugated reflector behind the lamp, substantially as described.

Signed at Lansford, Pennsylvania, this 15th day of September, 1902.

HOWELL W. SOUDER. 

